2024 Women’s Football Salary UK

    women's football has been undergoing a significant transformation in these years, with increased recognition, investment, and participation, but still there’s a huge salary gap between male and female football players. We can see some interesting facts from  the statistics about average UK women footballers earnings and the highest-paid rank.

1. How Much Professional Women Football Athletes in UK?

    Just as we mentioned in the Women's Football Pyramid earlier, both the WSL and Barclays WC leagues each consist of 12 teams, with 25 players per team. This means there are a total of 600 professional players in the top national leagues. If we include the 72 teams from tier 3 and tier 4 National Leagues, with approximately 28 players per team, that's a total of around 2,016 players. In other words, there are roughly 2,600 professional players across the four highest-tier leagues in the entire UK.

    According to reports from Our Sporting Life and our data analysis, approximately 777,000 girls in the UK are playing football. This means that only 0.33% of female players are fortunate enough to enter the realm of professional football.

2. Average Salary of UK Professional Women’s Footballer

    Given such a high rate of attrition in the professional ranks, female professional footballers should ideally receive salaries that adequately reflect their dedication and efforts. However, the reality is quite different.

    According to various authoritative sources, the average annual salary for female footballers at this level of professional leagues falls between £20,000 and £30,000. Even in the top-tier WSL, the average salary is only £47,000. According to reports from the BBC, top-tier female footballers have the opportunity to earn annual salaries exceeding £200,000 through avenues such as the Lionesses team, tournament prize money, endorsement deals, and other sources.

3. Highest uk player vs The Highest World player

    888sports points that the highest-earning female footballers globally in 2024 hail from Australia, the United States, Norway, Brazil, and France. Their annual incomes can exceed £400,000. Here are the detailed figures: 

    From reports we've gathered, it's understood that renowned football players such as Leah Williamson, Alex Greenwood, and Lucy Bronze earn annual salaries of around £200,000. Mary Earps earns approximately £250,000 per year, while Chelsea forward Fran Kirby's salary is around £310,000. Ella Toone's annual salary is about £70,000. Super forwards like Lauren James, Beth Mead, and Alessia Russo can command salaries exceeding £300,000 per year.

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    These figures may seem substantial, indeed. After all, these female athletes are among the most successful in their field. However, when compared to male footballers, the difference is staggering. For instance, Lauren James' brother, Reece James, earns in two weeks (at £250,000 per week) can exceeds her annual salary. 

 4. Words

    Our intention in writing this article is not to engage in comparisons among female footballers, nor is it to draw attention by exposing their salaries. In fact, our aim is simply to advocate for a more dignified income for female footballers at all levels, especially at a time when women's football is gaining increasing recognition, with rising attendance, viewership, and commercial value.